A new attempt to have another windsurf lesson, a new weekend without any wind at all. I expected during all Sunday just for a light breeze, but I haven't got even that. Hence, I ended up trying wakeboard, which was a big mistake. I hated it and I will spare you from all my complains. But the company (and the sun) was nice, though.
Saturday was spent at home, with a small Portuguese dinner prepared by me. Not that bad, I guess - the guests are still alive.
Wednesday, August 8: A "professional talk" with Mr. Khalil Hamdani, Director of the Division on Investment, Technology, and Enterprise Development (DITE) of UNCTAD, and a "talk & drinks" session about corporate social responsability and principles for responsible investment.
Picnic-ing in Geneva
Weekend #6 (August 11-12): An early morning tour to the known and typical Ferney market, just across the border, and a picnic by the lake with the product of the morning incursion. Later, the fireworks of the Fêtes de Genève. Sunday was spent at home - cleaning, working, et caetera.
Wednesday, August 15: An almost-farewell Japanese dinner after a busy day at work. Time's running out of control.
The cafeteria with a view
Thursday, August 16: The eagerly awaited lunch at WMO and the consequent disappointment due to high expectations. Not that it is bad, but I bet the view tricked many of the people who sold me this as the best cafeteria of all. But I still manage to see the machines they use to do the weather, though. Later, the intern coordinator meeting, where I was as representative of UNCTAD interns. Quiet calm, with no big frills. Me and my UNCTAD colleague decided to show how people from the right countries of Iberia - Portugal and Catalunya, respectively - enjoy meetings in bars and pubs by leaving the table to get food and drinks. It was a pity they had already finished when we returned...
The weather-makers at WMO
Friday, August 17: It was yesterday, for me. Work, lots of work. The last stop of the Cafeteria Tour, with the Red Cross Museum delivering its usual (good quality). And a this-is-it farewell dinner at a Portuguese restaurant (no, I didn't get any fee for arranging this!) and a late-night (and early morning; well, not for usual Portuguese standards) out in a club in Pâquis, dazed by being listening to kuduro in Geneva. Yah!
Weekend #7 (August 18-19): Home, sweet home.
UNHCR HQ
Today, together with some friends, I started my tour around UN cafeterias. The challenge is to find out what is the best UN-related cafeteria in Geneva and our first stage was chez Guterres.
António Guterres, also know for his nick-name Guga, is a former Portuguese Prime-Minister and the current UN High Commissioner for the Refugees. The UNHCR building, in the picture above, is not the nicest one from the outside, but the interior is something: bright, confortable, modern, it represents well a living metaphor of the different feelings of being outside or inside a home, alone or together with your people.
The gastronomic moment, even if without Mr. Guterres or Angelina around, proved to be a very decent experience. I chose a tuna steak with couscous, deliciously cooked and served with a good sauce. The set was also nice, as we stayed on the balcony, facing the sun and a small square behind the building. A good grade, for sure, but probably not enough to dethrone the cafeteria of the Red Cross Museum. Next stop: the WMO.
Fortunately, life is not only going to cafeterias: there are also restaurants; and work. Thus, the afternoon was the continuation of a busy morning and evening was the epilogue of a very busy day. Besides my own work, today I also helped some colleagues in the office with another project for which some knowledge of Portuguese is key. Yes, there are still works like this!
Thesis-wise, I issued a questionnaire and I'm praying to get some answers on time. A supervision meeting helped to keep the tram on tracks and a blind believe must guide me from now on in order to accomplish all my commitments on time. Otherwise, I must try to find a way of having 38-hour days...
The Celestial Sphere, Palais des Nations
The day rotated pretty much around UN/CEFACT's repository on "single windows", with me trying to read, understand, write. It was also the day of my first event as UNCTAD Intern Coordinator, a post I was recently promoted to. I know it's fancy and I must say I'm very proud of being the guy that has the power to update a mailing-list and, each Tuesday, send an e-mail to all UNCTAD interns calling for the Traditional-UNCTAD-Intern-Tuesday-Lunch. Today's lunch was a success and we even had to put tables together to fit all interns present, something usually not seen it this kind of initiatives - especially in August. Will this be the beginning of a wonderful career as a party promoter after arriving to Portugal?
The missed event of the day was a professional talk at WHO about current global health threats, epidemiology, and international health regulations. That and the football game after work. But more Tuesdays will follow - the next one will be tomorrow, as a never-ending round of talks and conferences is promised. I will let you know.
Boa noite!
Mont Blanc, La Môle, and Lac Léman guarded by the UN flag at the UN beach
There was also work, of course. But this week was particularly intense because of the high number of intern activities scheduled. With the end of July approaching, many interns are leaving Geneva in the following days and several events took place.
On Tuesday, the Traditional-Tuesday-UNCTAD-Intern-Networking-Lunch is already a classic. Every Tuesday interns meet at 12h30 at the cafeteria to lunch together, ending up scattered through all the premises in groups of three or four per table. This Tuesday was no exception, but it had an extended version, with a post-lunch photo session in the UN park.
On Wednesday, the much awaited dinner at the UN beach (an area by Lac Léman mischievously called "beach") was followed by a late-night incursion in the street-bar Le Terrasse. Thursday was to rest and get ready for a Friday late-afternoon sun bathing & swimming at the Bains des Pâquis, followed by a dinner. I skipped the disco afterwards, as I needed to get ready for more important duties.
Good night, and good luck.
Today I decided that I should keep a log of my daily tasks, in order to assess my own productivity and research route. I'll try to do it and to transform these notes into a true journal of my research, but I don't promise anything. I guess that boredom and lack of time will hit me hard and all the plan will be called off.
The day was pretty much like the previous ones, with me still looking for a road towards the Graal. I read two articles, started another, had a look at an Excel database and, in-between, went to try the much praised Red Cross restaurant, which, it must be said, is up to its fame. Cosier than the cafeteria at the Palais des Nations, the food is delicious and prepared right in front of us. My vegetarian crepe was perfect and the stewed beef was even better. The only drawback of the day was the failed attempt to buy tickets to a sold-out concert of Tori Amos in the Montreaux Jazz Festival. I won't comment on the rain.
